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Making handmade paper

Set of 10 handmade paper sheets created from a combination of recycled paper, coffee and green tea at Todo Papel.
These were created using the ancient oriental technique for paper making traced back to China in about 105 CE when a sheet of paper using mulberry, fishnets, old rags and hemp was created.

Have you ever made paper? Paper can be created from any old paper: computer paper, newspaper, magazines, egg cartons, old cards, paper bags, tissue paper, wrapping paper, paper napkins.

Want to make your own paper?:

• Go Make Something » Easy Papermaking
• How to Make Paper - An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide
• Making Handmade Paper in 10 Easy Steps
• You can also make tree free paper, which is even more eco friendly, out of fibre crops and wild plants, such as bamboo, hemp, jute, plant husks, straw and flax.
• Purchase Paper Making Kits at Paper-Go-Round – manufacturers of seeded paper also known as seed embedded paper, seed paper, plantable paper, handmade paper.

If you don't want to make your own you can purchase from Todo Papel or Euraba Paper Company aboriginal handmade papers made from fibres from the river and land.

Wordless Wednesday

Linked up with wordless wednesday at Angry Julie Monday,  Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, Crazy About My Baybah,

Good for baby, good for environment

When its time to start introducing solids to your baby, what is good for your baby is also good for the environment.  Most fruit and vegetables are easy for baby to digest.

Researchers at 3 universities in England discovered that babies who were given home-cooked fruit and vegetables were eating higher amounts of fruit and vegetables at the age of seven than those given home-cooked meals less often.

• Use fresh local in season fruit and vegetables.
• Store food you prepare in reusable containers.
• Reduce the use of packaging as much as possible: some fruits come in their own packaging like bananas, which are a great first food and full of potassium.
• If you buy prepared food, look for organic baby food that is sold in glass jars that you can re-use.
• Use wet face washers to clean baby's face and hands, instead of baby wipes.
• When out take a wet washer in a container to use for cleaning up baby.

Suggestions for first foods:
pumpkin, sweet potato, avocado, carrots, banana, pear.

Recycle my heart

A society is defined not only by what it creates,

but by what it refuses to destroy.

John Sawhill

Yesterday my grandson and I took advantage of the beautiful summer Sydney day and walked the calm waters of Kurnell beach. We found lots of white sun bleached shells and a small amount of sea glass. My grandson had not seen this before and at first thought it was dangerous but I showed him how the sea water and sand had swirled it smooth. We found clear glass and brown and my personal favourite - bright green - which seems rarer. I am hoping to create something with this glass soon.
Glass can take up to 1000 years to breakdown which is why it is wonderful to reuse it.
The simple yet elegant Transparent Heart in the photo has been cut from the side of a Newcastle Brown Ale bottle.
We loved wandering on the sand and feeling the breeze blowing on our skin and finding small treasures and will return again soon.

Earth provides enough

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.  Mahatma Gandhi

According to the United Nations it would cost about $30 billion per year to fund the necessary agricultural programs to end world hunger.
I have heard that if we all stopped buying the luxury item perfume and spent the same money on agricultural programs there would be no world hunger! 
Global Industry Analysts, Inc. released a report on the Perfumes market stating the global market for fragrances and perfumes is forecast to reach over US$33 billion by the year 2015. 

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where the earth meets the sky and the sea

Wishing you a peaceful holiday time.

We will be relaxing with family and friends but also enjoying:
continuing to remove bracken fern from the blue gum area on our farm and any other noxious weeds, watering our herbs and veges and fruit trees in the evenings, and relishing summer salads and fruits. We may even try preserving the peaches again if we get a bumper crop. (This will depend on the birds and the success of our new bird nets.)  

What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? 

Henry David Thoreau, Familiar Letters